hands, all the arm, is concealed by the skin, and nething appears but the hand from the wrist downwards; so that if we imagine a child with its arms swathed down, and nothing appearing but its hands, at each side of the body, towards the breast, we may have some idea of the formation of this animal in that part. These hands are covered in a thick skin, which serves, like a fin, for swimming; and are distinguished by five claws, which are long, black, and piercing. As to the hind feet, they are stretched out on each side of the short tail, covered with a hairy skin like the former, and both together almost joining at the tail; the whole looks like the broad fat tail of a fish; and, were it not for five claws which appear, might be considered as such. The dimensions of this animal are va rious, being found from four feet long to nine. They differ also in their colours; some being black, others spotted, some white, and many more yellow. The water is the Seal's usual habitation, and whatever fish it can catch, its food. Though not equal in instinct and cunning to some land animals, it is greatly superior to the mute tenants of that element in which it chiefly resides. Although it can continue for several minutes under water, yet it is not able, like fishes, to remain there for any length of time; and a Seal may be drowned like any other land animal. Thus it seems superior in some respects to the inhabitants of both elements, and

inferior in many more. Although furnished with legs, it is in some measure deprived of all the advantages of them. They are shut up within its body, while nothing appears but the extremities of them, and these furnished with very ́little motion, but to serve as fins in the water. The hind feet, indeed, being turned backwards, are entirely useless upon land; so that, when the animal is obliged to move, it drags itself forward like a reptile, and with an effort more painful. For this purpose, it is obliged to use its fore-feet, which, though very short, serve to give it such a degree of swiftness, that a man cannot readily overtake it; and it runs towards the sea. As it is thus awkwardly formed for going upon land, it is seldom found at any distance from the sea-shore, but continues to bask upon the rocks; and, when disturbed, always plunges down at once to the bottom.

The Seal is a social animal, and wherever it frequents, numbers are generally seen together. They are found in every climate, but in the North and Icy Seas they are particularly numerous. It is on those shores, which are less inhabited than ours, and where the fish resort in greater abundance, that they are seen by thousands, like flocks of sheep, basking on the rocks, and suckling their young. There they watch like other animals that live in troops; and, if an enemy appear, instantly plunge all together into the water. In fine weather, they more usually

employ their time in fishing; and generally come on shore in tempests and storms. The Seal seems the only animal that takes delight in these - tremendous conflicts of nature. In the midst of thunders and torrents, when every other creature takes refuge from the fury of the elements, the Seals are seen by thousands sporting along the shore, and delighted with the universal disorder. This, however, may arise from the sea being at that time too turbulent for them to reside in; and they may then particularly come upon land, when unable to resist the shock of their more usual element.

The females in our climate bring forth in winter, and rear their young on some sandbank, rock, or desolate island, at some distance from the continent. When they suckle their young, they sit upon their hinder legs, while these, which are at first white with woolly hair, cling to the teats, of which there are four in number, near the navel. In this manner, the young continue in the place where they are brought forth, for twelve or fifteen days; after which, the dam brings them down to the water, and accustoms them to swim and get their food by their own industry. As each litter never exceeds three or four, so the animal's cares are not much divided, and the education of her little ones is soon completed. In fact, the young are particularly docile; they understand the mother's voice among the numerous bleatings of the rest

of the old ones; they mutually assist each other in danger, and are perfectly obedient to her call. Thus early accustomed to subjection, they continue to live in society, hunt and herd together, and have a variety of tones by which they encourage one another to pursue their prey, or warn each other of their common danger. Some compare their voices to the bleating of a flock of sheep, interrupted now and then by the barking of angry dogs, and sometimes the shriller notes of a cat. All along the shore, each has its own peculiar rock, of which it takes possession, and ́ where it sleeps, when fatigued with fishing, uninterrupted by any of the rest.

How long this animal lives is not known: a gentleman who lived in Ireland, kept two of them, which he had taken very young, in his house for ten years; when they appeared to have acquired the marks of age, for they were grown gray about the muzzle.

As their chief food is fish, so they are very expert at pursuing and catching it. In those places where the herrings are seen in shoals, the Seals frequent, and destroy them by thousands. When the herring retires, the Seal is then obliged to hunt after fish that are stronger, and more capable of evading the pursuit: however, they are very swift in deep water, dive with great rapidity, and, while the spectator eyes the spot at which they disappear, they are seen to emerge at above an hundred yards dis

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